Bianca Caraballo was crowned at the finale of the national pageant held on Thursday, 1st February 2024 at the Teatro Francisco Arrivi in San Juan as she became the official representative of Puerto Rico at Miss Earth 2024.
Bianca will now try to win the second Miss Earth crown for her country after Nellys Pimentel won Miss Earth in 2019. With her reign, Bianca wishes to advocate for longevity of Miss Earth and climate change. Winning the crown at 22 and being new to the pageant world did not stop Bianca from outshining at Miss Earth Puerto Rico.
Helping and advocating for the environment has been a childhood ingrained dream for Bianca who has been working as a volunteer in different non-governmental entities and collect waste on the island's beaches ever since she was a child. Biance is also continuously working on ‘Sowing life’ platform, where care for the planet and love for literature come together in a unique space.
“We are a reflection of nature, I feel that climate change is not a thing of the past, it is not something to prevent, but it is something that must be treated. There is no second planet Earth, there is no Plan B, we have to deal with it and that's it," she quoted.
"If I use my words and, perhaps, my beauty, because we live in a world where beauty does matter, using these to carry a message, which is to take care of our environment - which is our home - seems spectacular to me," she added.
Bianca also believes that having discussions are not enough and it’s time to have public policy for the transition to renewable energies that allows the reforestation of the country and policies that enable school and university education where climate change and its consequences on society are taught.
Bianca Caraballo succeeds Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2023 Victoria Arocho who represented the country at Miss Earth 2023 and with her stellar performance, she placed in the Top 12. The 2024 edition of Miss Earth is set to be held in Vietnam later in the year where Dirta Ziri of Albania will crown her successor at the end of the event finale.